How to Write Past Performance When You Have Never Had a Government Contract

You find a contract you can actually do. You read the solicitation. Then you hit the section that asks for three references for similar government work in the last few years, and you close the tab.

Do not close the tab. Past performance is the section new firms are most afraid of and most often misread. You probably have more of it than you think, and the rules are kinder to new companies than most people assume.

What the rules actually say about having none

For federal contracts using negotiated procedures, the Federal Acquisition Regulation is direct about this. An offeror without a record of relevant past performance, or whose past performance information is not available, "may not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance."

That is a neutral rating. Not a zero, not a disqualification. You simply do not win or lose points in that category, and the rest of your proposal carries the weight.

The same section says the evaluation should take into account relevant past performance of predecessor companies, key personnel who have relevant experience, and subcontractors who will do major parts of the work. That is a door. Many new firms walk right past it.

State agencies, cities, counties, and school districts write their own rules. Some follow a similar approach. Some set a hard minimum, such as a set number of years in business or a set number of similar jobs. Read the solicitation's evaluation section and its minimum qualifications before you decide either way.

What counts that you are not counting

Commercial work. Past performance is about whether you did similar work well. It is not about whether the customer was a government. If you have done the work for a business, a nonprofit, a church, or a property management company, that is past performance. Describe it the same way you would describe a government job: who, what, when, how big, and how it went.

Your own experience before the company existed. If you spent ten years doing this work for an employer, that experience is real. Present it as the experience of key personnel: the person who will lead this contract has done this exact kind of work, here is where and here is what it involved. Be precise that it was performed while employed by someone else. Do not dress it up as a contract your company held. That is the line between strong and dishonest.

Your team's experience. The same goes for anyone you will name as key personnel. Their prior work counts in that section when it is relevant.

A subcontractor's experience. If you team with a firm that will perform a major part of the work, its record can be considered too. Get it in writing that they are committed to the role before you put their name in a proposal.

Small jobs. A one-time project, a short engagement, a small purchase order. Size matters less than relevance. A small job done well that matches the requirement is a better reference than a big job that does not.

How to write each reference

If the solicitation gives you a form, use the form, in order, with nothing skipped. If it does not, cover these for each one:

• Customer. The organization's name, and a contact who knows the work, has agreed to take a call, and will actually answer the phone.
• Dates. When the work started and ended, or that it is ongoing.
• Scope. What you delivered, in plain words. Use the same vocabulary the solicitation uses for the same kind of work.
• Size. The number of people served, sites covered, sessions delivered, documents produced, or whatever unit fits. Only real numbers from your own records.
• Relevance. Two or three sentences connecting this job to this requirement. Do not make the evaluator do that work for you.
• Result. What happened because you did the work, in terms the customer would agree with if the evaluator called them.

Call every reference before you list them. Tell them what the contract is and that someone may reach out. A reference who is surprised by the call, or who does not remember the details, hurts more than an empty slot.

What to never do

Never list a reference who has not agreed. Never stretch dates, sizes, or results. Never describe someone else's contract as yours. Evaluators check, and a proposal that gets caught overstating past performance does not just lose that bid. It follows you with that buyer.

If you have nothing relevant, say so plainly and let the neutral rating do its job. Then make the technical approach and the staffing sections carry the proposal. A clear plan from a new firm beats a padded reference list.

How to build a record on purpose

Every job you finish is a future reference, so start collecting them now.

• Go after small purchases first. Agencies buy a lot of work below the thresholds that require a full formal solicitation. Those jobs are easier to win and become references for bigger ones.
• Subcontract. Firms that already hold prime contracts often need a small business to deliver part of the work. That work builds your record, and the prime can serve as a reference.
• Keep a file on every job as you go. Customer, contact, dates, scope, size, and what happened. Write it within a week of finishing, while you still remember the details. Trying to reconstruct it two years later, the night before a proposal is due, is how numbers get fuzzy.
• Ask for a short written note from satisfied customers at the end of each job. It is easier to ask then than a year later.

Past performance is not a gate that only large companies get through. It is a record, and you start building it with the first honest job you finish.

Questions people ask

Can I bid on a government contract with no past performance?
Yes. Under the federal rules for negotiated contracts, an offeror with no record of relevant past performance may not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on it. You are not automatically scored down. Read each solicitation carefully, though, because some state and local buyers set minimum experience requirements that work differently.

Does commercial work count as past performance?
Usually, yes. Past performance is about whether you have done similar work well, not about who paid you. Work for private companies, nonprofits, and other businesses can count if it is relevant to the requirement. Check what the solicitation allows.

Can I use my own experience from a previous job as past performance?
Often you can present it as the experience of key personnel. The federal rules say evaluations should take into account the relevant experience of key personnel, predecessor companies, and major subcontractors. Be clear that the work was done while you were employed elsewhere. Never present it as a contract your company held.

What should a past performance reference include?
The customer's name, a contact who has agreed to be called and knows the work, what you delivered, when, the size and scope of the job, and how it relates to what this solicitation needs. Follow the solicitation's format exactly if it provides one.

How do I get past performance if nobody will hire me without it?
Start smaller. Micro-purchases, small purchases, and subcontracts with a firm that already holds a prime contract all build a record. Each completed job becomes a reference for the next, larger one.